Just started LST, is this right?

hopefully someone answers you im about to be at that point. that is what i plan on doing too...good luck

 

I think your just supposed to bend it.. I see your plant face plant on the soil. You dont have anything else to train with? That could affect things, I am not sure.

 

Just try to not let your pipe cleaners interfere with any new growth, you should be fine.

 

You should use string instead. Also, you want to tie the base of the stem the opposite way that you are lst, so you dont rip the roots. The plant shouldnt be that low to the soil, but I am sure it will be ok.

 

Looks good to me. I have used pipe cleaners and they work great. I like them because they are easy to work with and adjust. I noticed you are even keeping leaves out of the way so they don't interfere with light on the new growth. That works. I usually whack 1 or 2 of those off and use it to moisten up what I am smoking and that leaf usually winds up in the mix. I wait until there are more large leaves before removing any of them. The main goal is to allow light to the new growth and you have done that.

Something else I use is a solid copper wire with black plastic insulation for my LST. That is availabe at Radio Shack and isn't very expensive. That is what I normally use but have used and still do use pipecleaners from time to time. Here is something to keep in mind while training your plants.

As the plant grows the main stem can get to be well over 1/2" diameter. If you tie a string loosely to a small stem, when it grows it will become tight to that stem it seems like that could cause problems for a plant. I think that MJ would probably grow over it and absorb a tight string but i want my plants putting all of their productin into top growth, not trying to fix something I did to it. With pipecleaners and wire I will make a hook on the end, snag the top with it, pull it over and make a bend in the wire to hold it in place. As it grows and the stem gets wider the wire will self adjust. As long as you leave it so the wire or pipe cleaner can unbend as the plant grows it will work fine.

String is a hassle for me. Sometimes it is too tight of an area to be able to tie knots and stuff. There would be more chance of breakage too. With wire you just bend it and it stays.

I have a skunk#1 mom that is a couple of months old growing in hydro and the stem is probably 1/2" in diameter and is being ties off in a circle around the edge of the pot. I keep that girl as low as I can and it doesn't seem to bother her a bit. she keeps growing and I keep tieing her down with wire.

What you are doing looks good.

 

if this is your first time doing lst then you did a great job. as you get better you might not want to push it over but have a bend on the lower node so they plant has a gap between new growth and the soil as you have done in your second pic. be careful though as your plant grows because if you are overzealous when bending it down you can break it so be gentle.

no need to tie down the fan leaves until they block light from your newly emerging bud sites. its the bud sites that you need to keep tieing down. fan leaves you can just tuck and push out the way usually but if you have fan leaves that continue to block the growth of bud sites then do tie them down.

also only keep the new growth at the tips tied down, so remove your previous tie down and as you go along. looking good though.

 

I broke the first 1 i grew and liked to freaked. It wasn't a full break so I wrapped a piece of tape around it and in a couple of days was growing again. The next 1 I broke off a clean break and it recovered quickly too. MJ is really a hardy plant.

You will find much conflicting advice on these threads. That tells you that it must not be too hard if all of these different ways work. I say do what works for you as far as tie downs. Mine are tied down to make clones with so the secondary growth is never tied down. Variations can be made to enhance your specific grow.

 

I agree with sneakers -- pipe cleaners work great, and you did a fine job. Probably a little more anal than even I would be to hold back each fan, but certainly the right idea to get as much light as possible to the growth areas.

I also would try for more of a bend in the main stalk rather than it seeming to come out of the soil at an angle, but all will work out. In the future, when starting with a smaller plant that doesn't have much extention to use for bending, start by tieing it over just a little, by the next day it will have started to take the shape of that bend and you can bend it more (again pipe cleaners are great for this kind of constant readjusting while string can be a pain).

For now let it be and allow the new growth to bend back up toward the light and extend then tie back more.

P.S. I use white pipe cleaners because it the most light-reflective color. Not that the color of your LST material should make a meaningful difference, but if you're buying a pack (a buck or two at craft stores, Wally World, Target, etc) it's probably best to stick to white.